There’s something about gambling that filmmakers have always liked. Cards on the table, stacks of cash, someone looking far too confident and, sooner or later, everything going horribly wrong. It’s a pretty handy recipe for a film.
But after watching enough gambling movies, you can start to get a feeling that you’ve seen it all before. The characters change, the casino changes and sometimes the game changes, but the basic story can feel remarkably familiar.
Same Tables, Different Faces
The gambling world itself has changed quite a bit, though. You don’t even have to be sitting in a casino to play these days, live casino games online, for example, have brought real dealers and roulette, blackjack and baccarat tables onto screens, giving filmmakers another angle on how gambling fits into everyday life.
Movies haven’t always kept up with that change. A lot of gambling films still prefer the old-fashioned casino setting, and there’s nothing wrong with that. A smoky card room or glamorous casino gives directors plenty to work with.
The problem comes when every story starts following the same path.
The Big Gamble
Think about the usual gambling movie.
Someone needs money. They discover they’re extremely good at gambling. They win a few hands. Things look great. Then they get greedy, lose a fortune, owe money to the wrong people and have to find some clever way out.
You can probably think of several films that follow some version of that plot.
Sometimes the gambling is poker. Sometimes it’s blackjack or roulette. Sometimes the whole thing revolves around sports betting. But underneath it all, the story can be pretty similar.
There’s usually a big gamble coming at some point too. You know the scene. Everyone goes quiet, the cards are dealt or the wheel starts spinning, and the soundtrack makes sure we understand that this is Very Important.
There Are Some Great Exceptions
That doesn’t mean gambling movies are all predictable.
Some have found interesting ways into the subject. Casino looked at the people and businesses behind Las Vegas, rather than simply focusing on someone trying to win big at a table.
Rounders made poker the centre of its story, but it was really about friendship, debt and choices. Molly’s Game went in another direction again, telling the story of Molly Bloom and the high-stakes private poker games she became involved with.
Then you’ve got films such as Owning Mahowny, which is less interested in glamorous casino scenes and more interested in what gambling can do to someone’s life.
These films work because the gambling isn’t just there as decoration. It actually matters to the characters.
We Know the Tricks
One reason gambling movies can feel predictable is that audiences now know the visual tricks.
Slow shots of cards.
Close-ups of chips.
The roulette wheel.
Someone sweating over a decision.
A suspicious-looking bloke watching from across the room.
Then comes the big reveal.
None of these things are bad in themselves. In fact, they’re part of what makes gambling look good on screen. But use the same ingredients often enough and viewers start spotting the recipe.
What’s Next?
Perhaps the answer is to look outside the traditional casino.
Online gambling, live casino games, esports and mobile gaming have all changed how people interact with gambling. There are plenty of stories there that haven’t been mined nearly as much as the classic Las Vegas tale.
Maybe the next great gambling movie doesn’t need another man walking into a casino with one last chance to save the day. That story has had a pretty good run already.
